Entitlement mentality and redistribution of money is not the American way

I’ve never envied the rich. Nowhere is it written that I have a claim to property of another? My moral code resists that idea and the criminal code prohibits it.

Moreover, if those on the higher rungs of the economic ladder owe me something, then those on the lower rungs must have a similar claim against me. My enlightened self-interest resists that idea.

This whole entitlement mentality makes me uncomfortable. Coercive taking by the state and redistribution to favored political constituencies is inexorably replacing the voluntary good works of charities, churches and neighbors as the primary means of providing a safety net for the needy.

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To illustrate, a small bakery owner and I once belonged to the same loosely knit community group. We met weekly.

One day he arrived with pastries. I don’t know if his intent was to relieve the tedium of the secretary’s and treasurer’s reports, etc., but relieve the tedium they did.

The surprise treat morphed into a weekly affair. Attendance grew. Members arrived with coffee in hand and smiles on their faces. A sense of unity, purpose and accomplishment filled the air. Then one week he wasn’t there. Members strode to the table only to look up in dismay when they saw the cupboard bare. Nevertheless, all agreed that his absence was likely due to a sudden emergency ( the flu perhaps) and that he would return the following week.

Well, the following week came and went, and the week after. Each week, grousing about “ our “ missing pastries grew as concern about their purveyor diminished.

Interestingly, no one called to thank him for his generosity, or to inquire about his well-being, or thought to stop at a Dunkin Donuts to fill the void.

In short, the birth of the entitlement mentality on a micro-economic scale.

It is that sense of entitlement, of demanding something for nothing that is spreading, viral-like, through our culture, infecting and affecting everyone and everything.

In a recent letter to the editor of a local newspaper, a retired steelworker wrote that his retirement is insufficient to live on. He railed that “ Greed runs the wealthy. The more some people have, the more they desire.”

I suggest that he look in the mirror and ask himself how his greed contributed to his belt tightening.

For three decades, he enjoyed high wages, job security and generous benefits in a heavily unionized industry. During those halcyon days, how often did he buy another “ toy,” … snow mobile, second vacation ... rather than setting something extra aside for retirement? Moreover, when did he counsel restraint when his union leaders brought unreasonable demands to the negotiating table while turning a deaf ear to management’s warning that lack of competitiveness in a world economy would force plant closings and drive jobs overseas? When were unions satisfied with what they had?

Personal responsibility, enlightened self-interest and caring for each other are not incompatible. To the contrary, they are indispensible to a prosperous, just and peaceful people and nation.

It is only when, as now, the scales tilt in favor of individuals self-interestedly demanding rights without attendant responsibilities coupled with a government self-interestedly striving to satisfy those “rights” that tyranny, disintegration and division begin.

The balance must be restored.

(Gerald K. McOscar is a West Chester attorney and occasional guest columnist for the Daily Local New)